The invention relates to arrow rests, especially those with resilient arms that support an arrow as it is released and accommodate vertical plane flexing of the arrow, and more particularly to improvements in such arrow rests to reduce erratic flight of the arrow when fletching of the released arrow strikes the resilient arms.
It is well known that a released arrow undergoes a series of flexing and bowing motions during flight. Such flexing affects the accuracy and range of the arrow. In recent years, so-called "paradox" resulting from manual release of an archer's fingers, and also from deficiencies of early mechanical arrow release devices, have been largely overcome by improved mechanical release devices. However, if a fletching vane of an arrow strikes a rigid or resilient arm of arrow rest during flight, the arrow is knocked out of its desired trajectory and is slowed down. This sharply reduces the accuracy and distance of the shot. Use of most mechanical release devices results in substantial rapid vertical oscillation of the arrow. Such vertical oscillation is very erratic in nature and results in a great reduction in distance and shooting accuracy.
The great majority of all archery equipment sold is used for hunting. Hunting arrows usually have large broadhead arrow tips, and require large spiral or helical or offset fletching vanes to cause spinning of the arrow during flight. (Such spinning is necessary for broadhead hunting arrows to reduce inaccuracy due to windplaning.) Arrow rests have been designed with notches through which straight (non-spiral) fletching vanes of a released arrow can pass without striking the arrow rest have been designed. For example, see FIGS. 6 and 7 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,935,854 by Troncoso, Jr. However, some of the large spiral fletching vanes required for broadhead hunting arrows invariably strike the arrow supporting arms of all prior arrow rests of which I am aware. This has been proven by means of very recent high speed motion picture films. As an example of the inaccuracy this can cause, a broadhead arrow with large spiral fletching vanes, shot by a good archer to a target sixty yards away and striking a prior art arrow rest, usually will result in arrows being spread within a thirty inch diameter grouping on the target. However, if target arrows with small, straight fletching vanes which do not strike the arrow rest are used, the same archer can maintain a grouping within a six inch diameter area of the target, using a mechanical release and resilient arrow rest arms to avoid errors due to vertical spining.
The prior art has not disclosed a way of avoiding striking of an arrow rest by large spiral fletching vanes. There is an unmet need for an arrow rest device which improves the erratic flight of arrows due to striking of spiral fletching vanes against an arrow rest.